Lake District August 2019 - day 4

I had originally included Friday in the same post as Thursday, but then of course wrote more than I was expecting, haha. Friday was a little bit of a write-off; although I didn't need to leave Kewick till 3pm, I didn't do very much. After checking out of my room I went to the minor injuries unit at Keswick's small hospital to get my eye seen to. (Thankfully I was able to leave my heavy holdall at the B&B.) The weather was grey and wet, the clouds heavy and rain constant, so I guess the silver lining of my eye issue was that I didn't have to try and persuade myself to go hiking up a steep hill in the rain. While I'd enjoyed it on Wednesday, and as much as I was loathe to leave this walker's paradise having only done half a day's worth of walking, I wasn't really in the mood.

Two nurses looked at my eye and couldn't see either a scratch or anything stuck, so goodness knows what was wrong. But they gave me some antibiotic ointment to use for a few days to keep infection away, just in case. By the next day the feeling of something caught in there had thankfully gone and my eye felt completely normal again a few days later.

After leaving the hospital I headed back up towards the town centre and an independent café I'd seen recommended online, which apparently sold the best scones in town - Mrs F's Fine Food Emporium. There was a handwritten A4 poster on the door: "We welcome all races, religions, countries of origin, sexual orientations, genders. We stand with you, you are safe here." They're also dog-friendly, cyclist-friendly, and child-friendly, with space to park bikes and locks available to borrow, and a table upstairs for kids to do some arts and crafts. I loved it the moment I opened the door. It's very quirky, with the thrift-store furniture mismatched and wobbly-legged, pages of old comic books pasted onto some of the walls, vintage clothing and collectables scattered around for decoration or sale, small piles of old books dotted here and there, a knitting corner, and works by local amateur artists up on the walls. There was a poster up about the Chatty Café Scheme, which have "Chatter & Natter Tables" where customers can just sit and have a good old-fashioned interaction with other customers if they wish. Of course all the food is homemade, and the coffee roasted locally. I ordered a scone with jam and cream and sat listening to the old man playing the piano. It seems he goes in there most days at the same time for about an hour to do that :)

Scone with jam and cream

Mrs F's Fine Food Emporium

Mrs F's Fine Food Emporium

After sitting quite contentedly in Mrs F's Fine Food Emporium for a couple of hours reading my book, I decided to make my way down to the lakeshore for a last look. The ornamental gardens and public park just by it were much quieter than the previous days, though there were a few people about despite the rain. Someone was busking with an accordion in the underpass. I only lingered there a little while, looking out at the choppy white-tipped water and the fells half-obscured through low clouds and rain. I went back to the B&B to collect my holdall and Graham kindly offered me a lift down to the bus station. They journey back was fine and uneventful, and I got home shortly before 10pm.

Unsurprisingly, I loved the Lake District, and it has been added to my places-to-revisit list!